Title - "Power Stone"
Alternative title(s) - N/A
Genre(s) - Party (and you should see the first few sentences for more details)
System(s) - Arcade and Dreamcast

Let me get a point clear to your head. Despite what people say, "Power Stone" is not a fighting game. It's a party game. Calling "Power Stone" a fighting game is like calling "Love Hina" a shjo series, which is not true. It's shnen, with some shjo elements. So, you might as well say that "Power Stone" is a party game with some fighting elements.

Okay. Where to begin? I could talk about my story behind "Power Stone". Oh and by the way, no, the game has nothing to do with that weapon from "Rockman V". =P

I went over to a cousin's place one time and he showed me "PS". At first, I wondered, "How do you play this game?" So, I would take my time to study the controls and such. Later on that day, I would end up kicking people left and right. I felt like I became a god in that game. *lol*

Well, I also did play this game at an anime convention several months later. Like last time, I trashed the competition. Hee hee. Okay. I think I better stop right there.

For those of you who have no idea of what "PS" is, "PS" is a party game from Capcom, brought out in 1999 for the Dreamcast. Oh and I have to say, it's definitely like the original arcade cabinet. When the game was brought out here for the first time, it was surprising. A party game with fighting elements? This was unheard of back then. (I think this was true at the time.) Then a year later, there would be a sequel.

Fun - 9

I have heard a lot of bad criticism. "This is just a game in which you have to collect the stones to win!" "This game doesn't have a lot of depth!" Who cares? I liked the game. Also, about the stone issue, the game is waaay more than just collecting the stones. You also have various weapons like the sword and the chairs. The chairs are quick and they can be thrown from a distance, but they don't do much damage. Though a sword lacks range, it can take out one whole life bar.

Oh and just because you have collected the stones, it doesn't mean you will ensure yourself a victory. Some attacks can be easily dodged if you have the smarts. See?

Want more? How about hanging on a ceiling fan? How many fighting games let you hang on a ceiling fan? Um, none? If you are tired of brawling, one on one, why not try the other modes?

What are the flaws? Look at the next category. To be honest, I never played the final boss. I only keep hearing about it. I just played this game against other people.

Life - 7

While the game is fun, it can be a bit tiring. Will those extra modes help you out in the long run? Think about that.

Control - 9

We have a button to jump, punch and kick. We also have hot keys.

Your job is to beat your opponent down. You have your weapons and obstacles. Just press punch over a weapon to pick it up. You also have the help of the three power stones.

The controls feel natural, especially on a Dreamcast pad. The reason why the controls didn't get a perfect score was because there will be a time or two you will slip up and press the wrong button, especially in a critical situation. Still, I like what I see here.

Audio - 10

The music fits the environment. Some are fast paced and some are more slow. Awesome! Awesome!

As for the voice acting, I can't recall if anyone did speak English because I remember the characters did speak a lot of Japanese. Most likely the answer is no. So, if you do not know a drop of Japanese, sorry. You might as well live with it. The voice acting is about up to the standards of the "Justice Gakuen" series. That means the voice acting here is good. The announcer was eh though.

The other sound effects are nice as well. Whether you would pick up a stone or torch up that flamethrower, you know you're getting great sound effects.

Story - 7

Legend has it that whoever collects the legendary stones, will be granted a wish.

Um, yeah, we all have seen this before. Ah, a 7 will do here. The story does work, if you sit down for a moment and think about it.

Art - 10

Um, welcome to Anime Land minna-san! If you're seeing the game for the first time, you may think that this game was done by some smaller company, but no. Really! This game was done by Capcom, the same company who brought you "Street Fighter", "Rockman", "Final Fight", "Bio Hazard" and all those other series they're known for. I was like this when I first saw this game also!

Let's see. We have ten characters: Ayame, Falcon, Galuda, Gunrock, Jack, Rouge, Ryma, Wang Tang, Kraken and Valgas. Valgas has an extra form by the way.

The characters have dashing looks. Of course, we are brought with some ugly characters, but I won't get into that. Ayame is a ninja who fills in the always praised "kawaii anime girl" role. Rouge is a Gypsy fortune teller. Faulkner or Falcon as people outside of Japan call him is a British brawler who fills in the Ryu/Ken role.

We have stages with touches of various countries from Japan to England. The stages look nice. We have a saloon, and a place with a floor, carrying a chess layout. The presentation of this game is really nice overall. As far as finding any flaws here, yeah, it's blocky in some cases, but that doesn't bother me much.

Overall - 8

The "PS" games: buy or rent? The latter. The games are not for everyone. I wished more people have played them though. I wonder if I can still kick people around with Ayame now. Hee hee!

+

The visuals and the insanity make the game fun.

-

It's a questionable game to keep in the long run.

Date of creation - 10/6/04

Last update - N/A

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